Salipur(Cuttack): Arif Katki, a native of Kusumbi village under Salipur block of Cuttack district is a Muslim by birth. Despite being a Muslim, Arif has surprisingly penned several poems on Lord Jagannath.
Arif, who works abroad in a petroleum company as a Health Safety and Environmental Officer has returned home after four years.
Before his visit abroad Arif used to sing bhajans on Lord Jagannath in stage programmes now he is penning poems in praise of Lord Jagannath.
Earlier Arif used to sing bhajans in praise of Lord Jagannath at cultural programmes now he has taken up writing poems on Lord Jagannath, said Arif’s friend Kartik Charan Behera.
“It’s an old story. I have visited Puri with friends several times. Since I am a Muslim and I am not permitted to go inside the temple, I stand outside on the Bada Danda near the Aruna Stambha and watch devotees making a beeline to have darshan of Lord Jagannath. Then I had a feeling that there might be some power in this place which is attracting crores of devotees from the country and abroad towards it,” said Arif explaining his connection with Lord Jagannath.
He stated that once while standing in front of the Srimandir near the Aruna Stambha watching devotees entering and coming out of the shrine he was approached by a stranger and asked why he was not going inside the temple to which he replied that being a Muslim he is not allowed to do so, then the man gifted him a picture of Lord Jagannath which he has fixed on the wall of his room.
“Once waking up from sleep the next day after visiting Puri I had a strange feeling, a different kind of thrill passed through my nerves, that my body is Srimandir and my heart is Lord Jagannath. Words started pouring in and I started penning a poem on Lord Jagannath,” narrated Arif on his inspiration behind writing poems on Lord Jagannath.
“Arif has come back after staying in Kuwait for four years. He has written several poems on Lord Jagannath. On returning to the village he called me up and asked to read his poems. I liked his poems,” said another friend of Arif, Khageswar Biswal.
